PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- This is the kind of quality round of golf that has been rattling around inside Mike Weir for weeks now, trying to get out.

"I've been feeling this for awhile," he said. "It is a real confidence booster to put my game together for 18 holes."

Weir began defence of his Nissan Open title yesterday with the kind of round worthy of a defending champion. He combined solid ball-striking with instinctive putting for one of the few times this year and it paid off in a round of five-under-par 66, leaving him nicely placed, just two strokes off the lead.

"I had a quality round on Saturday at Pebble Beach (two weeks ago) but this was my best round in awhile. I really felt like I played well. I've been close, but so often my putting stroke wasn't quite there. But (yesterday) I really felt like I could lean on my putter when I needed to."

As is the case with most low rounds, this one was created not by birdies alone but by some magnificent par saves.

"That's always the key," Weir said. "You're never going to get through a round without a few hiccups. The important thing is, that when you don't hit it in tight, you make the putt."

After six holes, Weir was tooling along at two under par, largely because he had made three par-saving putts ranging between five and eight feet, a couple of them slippery ones.

His first birdie was more or less routine, at the short par-4 10th, where he hit his 64-yard approach to three feet and sank that putt to start the day.

UNPERTURBED

His second birdie was anything but routine. His drive at the 459-yard par-4 13th cut to the left, striking a large tree trunk dead on. His ball bounced back into the rough, leaving Weir about 230 yards to the hole.

Unperturbed, he struck a 5-wood absolutely perfectly, leaving himself an eight-foot putt which died in the hole.

Starting at the 17th, his eighth hole of the day, Weir made three birdies in his next four holes to get connected with the leaders at five under par. On his back nine, he made his only bogey of the day at the par-3 fourth, very nearly made a hole-in-one at the par-3 sixth, settling for par, then added his sixth birdie of the day by draining an 11-foot putt at the par-4 seventh.

A day like yesterday made Weir appreciate the synergies that materialize when all parts of his game show up on the same day.

"When you're feeling confident with the putter, it takes so much pressure off the other parts of your game," he said. "When you miss a green, it's not such a big deal because you have that feeling you'll make the putt anyway. And when you take away that pressure, you're more likely to hit it close."

Today, Weir has the benefit of an early start, with an 8 a.m. tee time. Players who played in the morning yesterday dominated the leaderboard because they played in calmer conditions. Some wind and rain is expected later today but Weir and the other early risers probably will miss it.

Even before he left the course last night, Weir was looking forward to getting right back out there this morning.

"When things come together, that's the way you feel," he said. "You want to get right back out on the course as soon as possible to try to keep it all flowing."

Weir very nearly didn't get his round in, as darkness came early. Play was suspended just minutes after he and playing partners Stuart Appleby and Jose Maria Olazabal had completed their round, with 13 others still on the course.

"It's just one day, but it was a good day," he said. "Something I hope I can build on."